Brad's Blog

Irving Penn once said, "A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective." The goal of this blog is to further communicate with my audience, and I humbly hope that my images touch your heart as they have mine.

I am most interested in the slightly imperfect, the quirky and original. Years of fashion photography have created a bit of a backlash in me. Instead of looking for the uber-perfect fashion model, I found myself searching for authenticity in my subjects. It was later explained to me that I was practicing elements of Wabi-Sabi, which is a study of the imperfect, flawed beauty and understated elegance. I was commissioned to photograph the Fall/Winter Lookbook for 1701 Bespoke and another concept was brought to my attention - Sprezzatura: A studied carelessness in Italian Fashion. I was apparently doing this with my photography as well. A subtle yet purposeful collar left unbuttoned, a watch worn over a shirt cuff or the skinny end of the tie being barely longer than the wide end. The more I explored the concept, the more I found it fit Detroit perfectly. There is also a wonderful originality that can't be falsified. It's a certain ownership of wearing something unusual with pride and bravado.

Detroit is doing this. I have never seen anything like the originality of Detroit; it is salvaging it's heritage but also re-inventing itself. I would never have thought of the words "Detroit" and "Sprezzetura" to be in the same sentence; yet here we are with the ultimate juxtaposition that is exactly what the world would never expect. Detroit is a true original.

Wether we call it Juxtaposition, Wabi-Sabi, or Sprezzatura I think Detroit has it. We are a wonderfully imperfect original work of art.

I’ve had the good fortune of living and working in Boston and New York as home bases and working all over the country in some of the largest metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, Washington DC, Atlanta and many others, and I have yet to see the pride that I see regarding Detroit. It has struck me as curious.

Although its had its share of troubles, Detroit is resurfacing and reinventing itself, and the pride for this city is an undercurrent coursing through the streets of the city. I think it is due to a collective survival mentality. If you could start a business in Detroit, you are a fighter. Despite obstacles sometimes feeling insurmountable, these businesses have toughed it out are beginning to rise. It reminds me of a type of boot camp - a fraternal organization that collectively supports due to common hardship. This is Detroit’s time, and it will never be the same ever again.

I learned about The Seen Detroit’s movement (images below) and thought it would be a fantastic way to showcase the juxtaposition of Detroit’s rebuilding and reinvention. Every time I head downtown something is irreversibly different and will never return to what it was when I first moved here. There are many narratives about what it means, but to me, it simply means that it’s time to showcase a once in a lifetime experience.

Head over to TheSeenDetroit.com and learn about Nelson, his training at 1701 Bespoke as head clothier and how it has influenced his movement and drive to pay homage to both old and new Detroit.